Music of the spirit

Winterhawks makes music with a message

Posted: Thursday, March 16, 2000

By Julie Phillips JordanStaff Writer

"It is a great day when we can come together to make sounds that have enough power to move our hearts in a good way. May we learn to speak to each other with honor while we walk the good red road ahead.''

Winterhawks

When: 3:30 p.m. March 19

Where: Athens-Clarke County Library

Cost: free

Call: (706) 208-1593

These words adorn the cover of Winterhawks' second, self-titled CD, released in 1999. They point to the spirituality the band emits, great truths about the blending of cultures, the need to care for each other and the health of the earth, all swirling together in song.

John Winterhawk Johnson, a Muscogee Creek Indian spiritual leader who lives in Athens, has offered his wisdom through lectures and teachings for a number of years, adding to his words the ethereal, soothing sounds of his American Indian flute.

About two years ago, he joined with percussionist Juan Villaveces-Duran, who provides a heartbeat to the flute's soul. Since then, they have released two CDs and have been joined by other musicians along the way, including Jimmy Merritt on keyboards and guitar and Joel Goldberg on vocals and percussion. Tracey Longenfeld and her 8-year-old son, Polo, have also been playing with the band as well.

Winterhawks' focus is on the message of the music, themes prevalent in the history of American Indian culture that are also relevant today.

''There are a lot of stories about the environment, animals and people, and how they relate to each other, and about the cycles of the earth,'' Johnson says.

He relays a story about trees, traditionally called Standing Ones, which long ago were said by American Indians to hold up the sky.

''They warned, when the settlers came over, that if too many were cut down, the sky would fall. And that truth has come. Our ozone layer has been depleted, and we're at a much greater risk for cancer now, among other things,'' Johnson says. ''These are old messages that have been told again and again, but they're very important. We have to keep them alive until something gets done.''

Villaveces-Duran, a native of Colombia, says the messages play a significant role in the band's performances.

''A lot of times after concerts, people will come and talk to John and ask about his spiritual beliefs,'' Villaveces-Duran says. ''I think more than ever people are searching for things on a spiritual level and are turned off by a lot of what they find. The storytelling really attracted me to this music, too. The type of education and information is something you don't find very often in song.''

The band itself is a sort of cultural melting pot. American Indian, Colombian and Western influences come together in the music.

''It's a mixing of other cultures with Native American instruments and stories to put them in a modern context,'' says Villaveces-Duran.

''In that way, the music can reach more people. And if you look back, rock 'n' roll has always broken the boundaries of traditional music. Reggae, blues -- these are all parts of one particular culture that have pushed forward.''

''There are boundaries around Native American music that say you should play traditionally, not mix with other instruments. But we've brought the music into a contemporary world in order to reach more people,'' Johnson says.

In its attempt to reach people, the band plays throughout the state at schools, churches -- anywhere they're asked. And Johnson regularly visits American Indians in the prison system and veterans hospitals.

He says one of the band's ultimate goals is to open an American Indian cultural center in Athens to provide people a place to go to learn about their heritage, do research and simply ask questions.

''People have been talking about that for a long time,'' he says.

''And many people don't realize their own roots, in Western society,'' adds Villaveces-Duran. ''A lot of people have lost those connections.''

Though he says they have been pleased to see a number of people respond when asked if they're of American Indian heritage.

But, of course, even people who aren't enjoy the music and the stories.

''I think the music touches a place spiritually in almost everyone who listens to it,'' Johnson says. ''And the biggest thing people want to ask me is where is God. I try to tell them God is everywhere. If we open our eyes up to all of creation, that is God.''